Elizabeth of Go Green Travel Green (not pictured) writes in to remind me of the new “price assurance” policy that Orbitz rolled out last week.

After you book your flight, Price Assurance guarantees that if someone else books the same flight (same date, same time) through Orbitz at a better rate than yours, Orbitz will send you a check for the difference (between $5 and $250 per person).

According to the Wall Street Journal, the move is an attempt to ward off competition from Priceline and Hotwire, both of which eliminated the ticket booking fees so often associated with online travel agencies. (Orbitz charges a $6 booking fee edit:$4.99 to $11.99 booking fee, variable depending on the itinerary, per ticket.)

So instead of offering a guaranteed discount (i.e., no booking fee), Orbitz is offering you the possibility of greater rewards, but for greater risk. It’s a gamble. And, in my estimation, it’s a losing bet, with the odds favor the house on this one.

Unlike Yapta, which tracks fare drops and alerts you when the published price goes down, Orbitz will automatically send you a check IF AND ONLY IF another Orbitz customer purchases the same ticket you booked, and they do it for less money. If the price just goes down, but no one buys that ticket on Orbitz, you’re out of luck. No refund.

So when would you be more likely to win in the refund lottery? It would need to be a frequently purchased itinerary, so I’d be expecting it on major business routes like Washington-Chicago, San Francisco-New York, etc. Trying to get a price drop refund on that Bozeman, Montana to Fayetteville, North Carolina itinerary? Good luck with that.

And besides, do you really expect fares to go DOWN much anytime soon? If Orbitz starts offering the other side of that wager, I’ll be in.

For the most part, I’d stick with either the airline’s own website, Priceline, or Hotwire, to save on the booking fee.

Related:
- The black art of repricing tickets
- Track airfare before and AFTER you buy?
- Putting low-fare guarantees to the test
- Orbitz (aff)

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